Comparative Susceptibility to Alcohol of the Cortical Area and Midbrain Reticular Formation of the Cat

The comparative effects of 1 gm./kg. alcohol on the primary somatosensory cortex, the association area, and the midbrain reticular formation were studied in cats. Responses evoked on stimulation of the radial and sciatic nerves were re-corded. Alcohol exerted a depressive action at the dose used. The association area was more sensitive to the depressant action of alcohol than was the reticular formation. The primary somatosensory cortex was less sensitive than the reticular formation. JLHE EFFECT of alcohol on the elec-trical activity of the cortex and deep structures of the brain in various animals has been the subject of investigation of many workers. There is a general agree-ment that alcohol has a synchronizing effect on the spontaneous electrical activ-ity of the cerebral cortex and, depend-ing on the dose, that such activity shows various degrees of reduction in frequency and decrease in amplitude. The underly-ing mechanism of this action is still in doubt. In contrast with the effects on the spontaneous cortical waves, Kalant,1 in a comprehensive review, quotes Cas-pers2 and furthers the idea that alcohol exerts its earliest action at the level of the reticular formation and that the changes in electrical cortical activity are subsequent to the primary reticular de